As global fraud concerns relating to credit cards continue to grow, many card issuers are attempting to come up with more secure credit cards for their cardholders. Existing methods for combating fraud still, at times, leave merchants and banks vulnerable. Heretofore, several unsuccessful attempts have been made to address these shortcomings.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,909,247 discloses a wireless transaction medium having a combined magnetic strip and radio frequency communications.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,793,851 and 7,828,220 disclose a dynamic credit card with an embedded encoder used to generate dynamic credit card account ID numbers that vary over time, can be decoded at the account manager's datacenter during purchases, and can be written onto a magnetic strip such that the number may be processed by traditional credit card merchants.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,591,416 discloses a selectable multi-purpose credit card. In one embodiment, the card includes a programmable magnetic strip along with embedded memory, buttons/contacts, and means for programming the magnetic strip with a different feature.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,533,828 and 7,278,581 disclose an electronic credit card device which includes a keypad, display, speaker, IR data i/o, and radio frequency components.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,306,158 discloses a process for creating a transparent or translucent transaction card with integrated chip and RFID components.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,246,752 discloses a magnetic stripe card which includes a plurality of magnetic write heads below the magnetic stripe.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,205,473 discloses a smart card with an integrated flexible photovoltaic cell or a display module.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,715,679 discloses a universal credit card that can transform into one of multiple conventional magnetic stripe-type cards.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,641,050 discloses a smart card that incorporates an electronic fuse and random number generator to improve user authentication security functions during financial transactions.
None of these references, however, teach a smart credit card wherein all integrated electronic components are powered by a radio frequency identification (RFID) antenna that is in a magnetic field. Furthermore, none of these references teach a smart credit card with a magnetic tape comprised of programmable ferromagnetic cells, in either a one-dimensional or two-dimensional grid array, with temporary configuration of proper account and authorization data through pixel control transistors.